6 pairs of brides took part in the retreat in preparation for contracting the sacramental marriage last weekend. The retreat was led by Fr. Zbigniew Borkowski, MIC, director of the Licheń Family Support Center and Addicts, together with Krystyna and Arkadiusz Gorgolewski, a married couple with many years of experience.
Oliwia Szadkowska and Damian Gałczyński belong to the parish of st. Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael in Aleksandrów Łódzki. The bride and groom have already completed the pre-marriage course in their native parish, but they decided to come to Licheń because they wanted to experience a retreat for the engaged couples before the ceremony.
- “We came to Licheń because the date was right for us. In addition, it is relatively close - we did not want to go to such a retreat to the other end of Poland. The value of this retreat is that it lasts for three days, during which various issues are addressed. After each topic discussed, we have time to think about a given issue, we can discuss the topic individually. And when inaccuracies or questions arise, you can immediately talk to the lecturers, ”said Damian Gałczyński.
On the other hand, for Oliwia Szadkowska the time that the bride and groom can devote to prayer, participation in the Holy Mass, silence and separation from the everyday world is also important. It is also valuable to exchange experiences with other course participants.
Among the participants of the meeting were also fiancés of Ukrainian origin: Alina Kowtuniak and Pavlo Hladysh. They have been living and working in Poland for two years. They come from Ukraine, but they associate their future with Poland, and more precisely with Głogów in Lower Silesia, where they intend to settle permanently. They learned about the retreat from the website of the sanctuary and decided to come to Licheń. - “While looking on the internet for a place where such meetings take place, I found the website of the Lichen sanctuary. I reported us and here we are, ”said Alina Kowtuniak.
Alina's fiancé, Pavlo Hladysh, comes from a small village in the Tarnopol Province, where half of the population are Catholics and the other half Orthodox. - “There are many mixed marriages. And there is no problem with that, because the faith is the same, just a different rite. When making a decision to get married, the couple must decide whether the marriage will be concluded in the Catholic Church or in the Orthodox Church. " The bride and groom decided that they would get married in Ukraine, in the groom's home parish, in the Catholic rite.
A total of 6 couples participated in the retreat, incl. from Poznań, Kowary, Częstochowa and Wrocław.
The next retreat in preparation for a sacramental marriage at the Marian Sanctuary in Licheń Stary is scheduled for February 2022. Detailed information can be found in Licheń Help Center Families and Addicts under the phone number 63 270 81 32 or 725 573 753.
